Patrick, the creator of Windosill has just released an iOS app for kids called Metamorphabet, which contains the same whimsical quirkiness. It's not a game, instead, it's an app to teach kids the alphabet. Each time you touch a letter, it morphs into something different that starts with that letter. I just wish there were 1000 letters in the alphabet.

]]>

Windosill is one of my favorite online puzzle games. It's quiet and wonderfully strange and comes with no instructions.

Patrick, the creator of Windosill has just released an iOS app for kids called Metamorphabet, which contains the same whimsical quirkiness. It's not a game, instead, it's an app to teach kids the alphabet. Each time you touch a letter, it morphs into something different that starts with that letter. I just wish there were 1000 letters in the alphabet.]]>

The number of stolen iPhones dropped by 40 percent in San Francisco and 25 percent in New York in the 12 months after Apple Inc added a kill switch to its devices in September 2013. In London, smartphone theft dropped by half, according to an announcement by officials in the three cities.

When Activation Lock is enabled on an iOS device, you must first enter the device's Apple ID and password to erase and reactive it, or to turn off the GPS tracking.

If you have an iOS device, you can check your Activation Lock Status here.]]>

MacRumors takes a look at the Nintype keyboard for iOS ($4.99). Its psychedelic distortion interface is like something from a science fiction movie.]]>

http://boingboing.net/2014/12/08/ios-keyboard-promise-100-words.html/feed0iOS's first major malware challengehttp://boingboing.net/2014/11/11/ioss-first-major-malware-cha.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/11/11/ioss-first-major-malware-cha.html#commentsTue, 11 Nov 2014 11:30:52 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=344759Glenn Fleishman reports on a hack in the wild that may trick users into installing malicious apps. But don't panic! Though potent, the malware has significant real-world limitations.]]>Researchers at FireEye have discovered a pathway for malware makers and data snoopers to install iOS software that replaces well-known apps while retaining any data associated with those apps. This allows an attacker to access locally cached mail in Gmail, impersonate your bank's app, and more. Installation still requires the active participation of naive users, but the outcome is substantially worse than previously thought.

It's a two-part method for ne'er-do-wells to carry out this attack, which has a lot of self-limiting aspects, as serious as it could be. First, they need to obtain either an ad hoc or enterprise provisioning profile through Apple, which means they need a developer account — inexpensive, but it does require one-at-a-time setup and verification, and carries some measure of identity and trackability. I expect that some developers will have their accounts hacked in order to make use of this vector. Apple didn't respond to a request for comment. (Apple still doesn't have two-factor authentication enabled for Apple IDs in its developer center, though it uses other methods of tracking and notification of changes.)

These provisioning profiles contain digital certificates that bypass Apple's normal app installation limit that all apps must come from the App Store. The ad hoc profile lets a developer distribute testing versions of software to a very small number of people (up to 100 devices using their unique hardware ID). The enterprise (company) version is for firms that want to develop and distribute in-house software to employees. The yearly fee is $99 for a regular developer license and $299 for the enterprise version. (Apple purchased TestFlight, a beta distribution service, and now allows sending out in-progress builds to up to 1,000 accounts and unlimited devices, but the distribution workflow is quite different.)

These profiles aren't binary executables: they're XML documents that can be delivered and installed in all manner of ways, including via email or a Web site download, and over USB, cellular, or Wi-Fi. These are more powerful than configuration profiles, which may be used to set up an email account without entering the details and for other purposes, but a user installs them the same way: a simple tap for Install; with ad hoc, there's an extra step to tap Trust when the app is launched.

This is a well-known situation, and hasn't seemed worth exploiting until now because the certificates used in the profile are issued, checked, and may be revoked by Apple. A villain would have to get someone to install a profile and run an app, and then ostensibly enter personal data or allow access to parts of the system, such as Contacts, to phone anything useful home. This could be a method to run sandbox exploits in iOS, where an app could break through Apple's code moats that keep app environments ostensibly separate, but the bar is so high, it wouldn't seem like a worthwhile investment of time and the subsequent loss of valuable certificates once uncovered by security folks or Apple.

It's the second part, though, that truly escalates the risk into something to worry about. Attackers can use the app identifier (its bundle ID, a public bit of text) for any iOS app except Apple's built-in ones to replace that program on installation. Apple not only doesn't cross-check the certificate to make sure that the app being replaced matches the original developer's signature, but also retains any associated data caches. The install message can be benign, offering to install "New Flappy Bird," but then install an app named and identified however the attacker likes. The cuckoo's egg is laid in iOS, hatches on launch, and can greedily devour any "food" around it, like email messages, documents, and the like.

FireEye reported this issue first to Apple in July, the firm writes on its blog, and then went public on November 10 when it found its so-called Masque Attack in the wild.

This is a potent one-two punch, but it has significant limits. Rich Mogull, a principal at Securosis, an independent security research and consulting firm (and, disclosure, old friend), finds FireEye's explanation credible and the exploit concerning, but thinks because of the limitations, it will be used only for attacking specific individuals or organizations. He notes that because Apple can revoke certificates, and users have to be fooled into installing the profile, there's no vector for a mass assault.

FireEye's advice is good wisdom any time, however: don't install or trust anything in iOS you didn't specifically request or intend to install. If you work at a company, agency, or group that could be a spearphishing target, this is another tool in the arsenal for such attacks. And Apple should be able to fix this problem by adding a certificate check before one app replaces another — assuming it agrees it's a problem. Based on its recent rapid response to security issues, one hopes an improvement will be shipped soon.

]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/11/11/ioss-first-major-malware-cha.html/feed0Mobile malware infections race through Hong Kong's Umbrella Revolutionhttp://boingboing.net/2014/10/03/mobile-malware-infections-race.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/10/03/mobile-malware-infections-race.html#commentsFri, 03 Oct 2014 19:00:12 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=335634
The protesters are dependent on mobile apps to coordinate their huge, seemingly unstoppable uprising, and someone -- maybe the Politburo, maybe a contractor -- has released virulent Ios and Android malware into their cohort, and the pathogens are blazing through their electronic ecosystem.]]>
The protesters are dependent on mobile apps to coordinate their huge, seemingly unstoppable uprising, and someone -- maybe the Politburo, maybe a contractor -- has released virulent Ios and Android malware into their cohort, and the pathogens are blazing through their electronic ecosystem.

The Android malware spreads via Whatsapp messages; the Ios version -- "Xsser Mrat" -- is spread through Cydia, an alternative to Apple's App Store. They masquerade as messenger apps from the activist group Code4HK. The Apple version uses the same command server as the Chinese version of the Xsser cross-site scripting hacking tool.

Once installed, the malware -- a form of RAT, or Remote Access Trojan -- can access the devices' messages, passwords, photos, videos, and keystrokes. Additionally, the Android version can send messages, place calls, upload files and run other local commands.

Like other iOS RATs, this malware requires that the device be jailbroken in order for it to be installed—it’s not something that users download from the Apple app store. But that step may have been aided by the prevalence of public jailbreaks for iOS devices in China to gain access to local applications not published through Apple’s iTunes store, thanks largely to Pangu. Xsser mRAT installs through Cydia, an alternative to the iTunes store for jailbroken devices, as a Debian .deb package file.

Both the Android and iOS mRATs can pull huge swaths of data from the infected devices: hardware and operating system information, address books, call logs, SMS messages, location data, and photos, for starters. The Android version can also record audio, place calls, execute other commands on the device, and download files from a URL or directly from the remote attacker’s computer.

The iOS mRAT, according to Lacoon researchers, can also gain access to passwords and usernames stored in the iOS keychain and the local archives for Tencent’s Mobile QQ, a popular Chinese messaging application. The breakdown of Xsser mRAT also found a number of unimplemented commands in the code, indicating that the Trojan is still under development and additional features may be pushed out to infected devices. Included among the referenced, but unimplemented, commands were features already in the Android mRAT—sending SMS messages, placing phone calls, running local commands, and uploading files to the device.

Identifying exactly who’s behind these mRAT Trojans isn’t easy. The servers for their CnC network are virtual Windows servers hosted on a Chinese virtual private server (VPS) service, the identity of which is s hidden behind a “whois protection service” operated by Jiangsu Bangning Science and Technology Co. Ltd—a Chinese ISP and domain registration services company. Similar tactics have been used by other cybercriminals based out of China—and other countries—in the past.

The original paper (paywall), published in Elsevier's Digital Investigation sparked a non-denial denial from Apple, basically admitting that the back-doors were there, but misleadingly suggesting that they were only for enterprise administration.

But as you can see from Zdziarski's slides (PDF), neither this nor other excuses really hold water. The backdoors are actively maintained code that can be accessed over networks, possibly over cellular networks, without developer tools, and even on devices that are not in enterprise mode. The backdoors expose deep and sensitive data that is nominally encrypted and locked, and there are tools and systems in the field that rely on them, including law-enforcement tools for slurping up data from people who've been detained -- a practice the Supreme Court recently held to be illegal.

Additionally, Zdziarski points out that some NSA leaks reference a secret tool called DROPOUTJEEP, for attacking Ios devices; he speculates that this backdoor may be the key to DROPOUTJEEP's functionality.

Questions for Apple:

*
Why is there a packet sniffer running on 600 million
personal iOS devices instead of moved to the developer
mount?

*
Why are there undocumented services that bypass user
backup encryption that dump mass amounts of personal
data from the phone?

*
Why is most of my user data
still
not encrypted with the
PIN or passphrase, enabling the invasion of my personal
privacy by YOU?

*
Why is there still no mechanism to review the devices my
iPhone is paired with, so I can delete ones that don’t
belong?

]]>

http://boingboing.net/2014/07/23/back-doors-in-apples-mobile.html/feed0Apple adds privacy-protecting MAC spoofing (when Aaron Swartz did it, it was evidence of criminality)http://boingboing.net/2014/06/12/apple-adds-privacy-protecting.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/06/12/apple-adds-privacy-protecting.html#commentsFri, 13 Jun 2014 01:00:35 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=310672
Apple has announced that it will spoof the MAC addresses emitted by its wireless devices as an anti-tracking measure, a change that, while welcome, is "an umbrella in a hurricane" according to a good technical explainer by the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Jeremy Gillula and Seth Schoen.]]>
Apple has announced that it will spoof the MAC addresses emitted by its wireless devices as an anti-tracking measure, a change that, while welcome, is "an umbrella in a hurricane" according to a good technical explainer by the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Jeremy Gillula and Seth Schoen.

One notable and sad irony here is that MAC spoofing was held up as evidence of criminality in the indictment of Aaron Swartz: the US prosecutors characterized changing your MAC address as the sort of thing that only criminals do. Either this is proof that "when privacy is criminalized, only criminals will have privacy" or that federal prosecutors are lying assholes. These are not mutually exclusive possibilities.

Unfortunately, in the overall scheme of location-tracking technology, Apple's privacy-protective step is something like opening an umbrella in the middle of a hurricane. Smartphones still transmit cellular signals containing a different hardware identifier called the IMEI (as well as other mobile device identifiers). Cell towers (and specialized surveillance equipment that's becoming increasingly widely available) can still use such information to pinpoint where you are. We don't have a good solution for that today, and it needs to be recognized as a major privacy risk. And other mobile and "Internet of things" technologies, including Apple's new iBeacons, also have important implications and risks for location privacy.

But even when we just focus on Wi-fi, the Wi-fi probe packets sent by your smartphone also contain the names of networks that your phone wants to join (because it's joined them before). Not only does this broadcast a history of where you've been (through the names of these networks), it's also highly distinctive in itself. Just as you're probably the only person who both lives in your home and works in your workplace, you're probably the only person whose phone and laptop have joined both your home network and your work network. That means that, even without a persistent hardware MAC address, carefully watching the network list itself can allow an astute watcher to identify you.

Some retail analytics companies, and, we presume, some government agencies, are already doing just that. That means that, for many users, the benefit of Apple's privacy enhancements is circumscribed by other leaks that might end up giving away almost the same information. Still, Apple's move is extremely welcome and, to our knowledge, makes Apple the first device maker to have protected its users' privacy this way. We hope other vendors will rise to the challenge of protecting their users in the same way, but recognize that this is just the first step down the road of preventing mobile devices from broadcasting information about their users' whereabouts.

http://boingboing.net/2014/06/12/apple-adds-privacy-protecting.html/feed0Hitman GO for iOS - a 3D boardgamehttp://boingboing.net/2014/04/17/hitman-go-for-ios-a-3d-board.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/04/17/hitman-go-for-ios-a-3d-board.html#commentsThu, 17 Apr 2014 16:40:39 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=298134Video Link] The graphics for Hitman GO are beautiful. I have not played it yet. Can someone who has please review it in the comments?]]>

[Video Link] The graphics for Hitman GO are beautiful. I have not played it yet. Can someone who has please review it in the comments? Is it worth $5, plus all the in-app purchases required to move to the next chapters?

Hitman GO is a turn-based puzzle game where you will strategically navigate fixed spaces on a grid to avoid enemies, infiltrate well-guarded locations and take out your target on beautifully rendered diorama-style set pieces.

Hitman GO]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/04/17/hitman-go-for-ios-a-3d-board.html/feed0In-car iOS and Android partners line uphttp://boingboing.net/2014/03/03/carplay-partners-announced.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/03/03/carplay-partners-announced.html#commentsMon, 03 Mar 2014 15:18:42 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=290153the launch partners will be Mercedes, Volvo and Ferrari.]]>the launch partners will be Mercedes, Volvo and Ferrari. Google's rival system, announced at CES, is to launch in vehicles by Honda, Audi, Hyundai and GM. Your personal futuriness can now be measured by whether your choice of phone influences your brand of car, or vice-versa. [Guardian] ]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/03/03/carplay-partners-announced.html/feed0Audio game app for blind peoplehttp://boingboing.net/2013/12/19/audio-game-app-for-blind-peopl.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/12/19/audio-game-app-for-blind-peopl.html#commentsThu, 19 Dec 2013 21:49:09 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=275426Bob Smolenski says: "I've released a new audio game app for blind and visually impaired. Open Field Echo Sounder uses GPS on your iPhone or Android.]]>

Bob Smolenski says: "I've released a new audio game app for blind and visually impaired. Open Field Echo Sounder uses GPS on your iPhone or Android. Walk to the center of an open field and six virtual targets will be arranged around you. Echo locate them using headphones to determine direction. Sighted folks can play it also ;)"

http://boingboing.net/2013/12/19/audio-game-app-for-blind-peopl.html/feed0Crowfunded prize for first open jailbreak of Ios 7http://boingboing.net/2013/12/04/crowfunded-prize-for-first-ope.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/12/04/crowfunded-prize-for-first-ope.html#commentsWed, 04 Dec 2013 20:40:55 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=272389
Elizabeth Stark writes, "We're pleased to announce the Device Freedom Prize: a crowdfunded reward for the first developer(s) who release an open source iOS 7 jailbreak.]]>
Elizabeth Stark writes, "We're pleased to announce the Device Freedom Prize: a crowdfunded reward for the first developer(s) who release an open source iOS 7 jailbreak. Providing users the ability to control their devices is crucial in an age where we're increasingly dependent on our mobile phones. An open source jailbreak provides users the capability to install what they want on their own devices, the ability to audit the code they're using to do so, and enables disabled users to more easily use their devices."

"We've assembled a judging panel of awesome folks that care a lot about these issues, including Boing Boing's own Cory Doctorow; Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixit; Biella Coleman, Professor and Author of Coding Freedom, and Chris Maury, Accessibility Advocate. Contribute to the prize to help make an open source iOS jailbreak a reality."

Apps for Kids is sponsored by HuluPlus. HuluPlus lets you binge on thousands of hit shows – anytime, anywhere on your TV, PC, smart phone or tablet. Click here to support Apps for Kids and get an extended free trial of Hulu Plus.

Our Minecraft contest deadline has been extended to October 11 at noon PT! email us a screenshot or YouTube link of your Minecraft creation and we'll pick a winner to join us on an upcoming episode of Apps for Kids!

If you're an app developer and would like to have Jane and me try one of your apps for possible review, email a redeem code to appsforkids@boingboing.net.

]]>http://boingboing.net/2013/10/04/apps-for-kids-46-nimble-quest.html/feed0Iphone fingerprint hacker on the limits of biometrics for securityhttp://boingboing.net/2013/09/27/iphone-fingerprint-hacker-on-t.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/09/27/iphone-fingerprint-hacker-on-t.html#commentsFri, 27 Sep 2013 08:00:52 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=258111
Jan "Starbug" Krissler, the Chaos Computer Club researcher who broke the fingerprint reader security on the new Iphone, had given a long interview to Zeit Online explaining his process and his thoughts on biometrics in general.]]>
Jan "Starbug" Krissler, the Chaos Computer Club researcher who broke the fingerprint reader security on the new Iphone, had given a long interview to Zeit Online explaining his process and his thoughts on biometrics in general. The CCC's Alex Antener was good enough to translate the interview for us; I've included some of the most interesting bits after the jump.

Krissler: There are certain characteristics that are better and characteristics which are less suitable. The better ones include those which you do not leave anywhere, or the ones that cannot be taken off easily and unnoticed. Which means, characteristics that you can actually only be read with an appropriate sensor. The vein pattern is a good example. I had assumed that Apple would apply something of the kind. After all at the launch of the iPhone it was announced that the scanner will have a sub-epidermal finger recognition, i.e. one that not only relies on finger ridges on the surface. Frankly spoken, I was shocked by how easy it was to bypass it.

But also in other processes such as vein patterns it must be clear: if someone gets access to such a characteristic, he will find a way to replicate it and thereafter to overcome the system.

ZEIT ONLINE: So why is biometry presently so highly touted as a security mechanism?

Krissler: As there is a big industry behind it and because biometry also is capable of identifying people.

ZEIT ONLINE: But isn't it that biometry works fine to clearly identify someone, but not as good to have something secured?

Krissler: One can customize systems quite well, as long as they only need to distinguish people from each other. In this case the error rate is quite low. But once you have the whole of humanity, or in this case all iPhone users as a target group, things get quite impossible. Simply because its characteristics vary greatly. Biometry just also has its weaknesses. Unlike passwords that are either right or wrong, there is always a certain probability of match. Therefore the TouchID scanner isn't really a security method, but a comfortable method. Had Apple made the mechanism more secure, too many people would have struggled turning on their iPhone and too many people would have been rejected too often.

Many don't use any passcode on their smartphone at all, whereas using a fingerprint is still better than nothing - as Apple said at the launch. But it's obviously about convenience and ease of use, not about security. Therefore I would not even want to rate TouchID associated with security practices.

In the end it, remove the fingerprint in a realistic usage scenarios directly from an iPhone succeeded. Here, a scanner with 2400 DPI was used. Subsequently, this fingerprint is digitally enhanced in order to print on a transparent film (1200 dpi), which was then used as a mask for exposing a printed circuit board. Protected by the black areas in front of the UV light structures do not harden and can then be etched away. This yields a form that serves as a template for creating artificial fingerprints. This is done by spraying with graphite, which is then applied wood glue is then used as a skin-like support material. The video shows that the iPhone is accepted as the created fingerprint harmless dummy.

None of the methods used is new. About to create the procedure, fingerprint forms with etched circuit boards, Tsutomu Matsumoto in 2002 documented . The equipment and materials used are quite simply accessible for ambitious hobbyists. Thus, the cracking of the fingerprint lock should indeed exceed the capabilities of a conventional pickpocket, a targeted attack by a tech savvy attacker will touch ID but no insurmountable obstacles in the way.

http://boingboing.net/2013/09/24/more-details-new-video-showin.html/feed0Chaos Computer Club claims it can unlock Iphones with fake fingers/cloned fingerprintshttp://boingboing.net/2013/09/22/chaos-computer-club-claims-it.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/09/22/chaos-computer-club-claims-it.html#commentsSun, 22 Sep 2013 21:46:14 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=257343
The Chaos Computer Club's biometric hacking team has announced a successful attack on Apple's Iphone biometric fingerprint lock, using a variation on the traditional fingerprint-cloning technique.]]>

The Chaos Computer Club's biometric hacking team has announced a successful attack on Apple's Iphone biometric fingerprint lock, using a variation on the traditional fingerprint-cloning technique. CCC's Starbug summarizes: "As we have said now for more than years, fingerprints should not be used to secure anything. You leave them everywhere, and it is far too easy to make fake fingers out of lifted prints."

The method follows the steps outlined in this how-to with materials that can be found in almost every household: First, the fingerprint of the enroled user is photographed with 2400 dpi resolution. The resulting image is then cleaned up, inverted and laser printed with 1200 dpi onto transparent sheet with a thick toner setting. Finally, pink latex milk or white woodglue is smeared into the pattern created by the toner onto the transparent sheet. After it cures, the thin latex sheet is lifted from the sheet, breathed on to make it a tiny bit moist and then placed onto the sensor to unlock the phone. This process has been used with minor refinements and variations against the vast majority of fingerprint sensors on the market.

"We hope that this finally puts to rest the illusions people have about fingerprint biometrics. It is plain stupid to use something that you can´t change and that you leave everywhere every day as a security token", said Frank Rieger, spokesperson of the CCC. "The public should no longer be fooled by the biometrics industry with false security claims. Biometrics is fundamentally a technology designed for oppression and control, not for securing everyday device access." Fingerprint biometrics in passports has been introduced in many countries despite the fact that by this global roll-out no security gain can be shown.

]]>http://boingboing.net/2013/09/13/apps-for-kids-45-beans-ques.html/feed0Sen. John McCain played 'VIP Poker' on his iPhone as colleagues debate bombing Syriahttp://boingboing.net/2013/09/05/sen-john-mccain-played-vip.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/09/05/sen-john-mccain-played-vip.html#commentsThu, 05 Sep 2013 14:56:52 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=254014this photo by Melina Mara at The Washington Post:
Senator John McCain plays poker on his IPhone during a U.S.]]>Making the media rounds as America formalizes a decision to go to war against Syria, this photo by Melina Mara at The Washington Post:

Senator John McCain plays poker on his IPhone during a U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing where Secretary of State JohnKerry, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey testify concerning the use of force in Syria, on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, Tuesday, September 3, 2013.

A few hours after the photo went viral, McCain tweeted:

Scandal! Caught playing iPhone game at 3+ hour Senate hearing - worst of all I lost!

http://boingboing.net/2013/09/05/sen-john-mccain-played-vip.html/feed0Iphones and other Apple devices can be compromised with malicious fake chargerhttp://boingboing.net/2013/08/02/iphones-and-other-apple-device.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/08/02/iphones-and-other-apple-device.html#commentsFri, 02 Aug 2013 20:06:57 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=247287
Billy Lau and Yeongjin Jang from Georgia Institute of Technology have presented a demo at Black Hat of a way of stealthily compromising Iphones and other Ios devices with gimmicked chargers.]]>
Billy Lau and Yeongjin Jang from Georgia Institute of Technology have presented a demo at Black Hat of a way of stealthily compromising Iphones and other Ios devices with gimmicked chargers. The devices need to be unlocked -- either having no unlock code to begin with, or unlocked by the user after connection -- but apart from that, the device can compromise any Ios device.

Using the UDID, it effectively claims your device as a test device using the team's Apple developer ID. "The iOS device must pair with any USB host that claims it," said Jang. "Any USB host that initiates contact, they cannot reject it. It doesn't ask the user's permission and gives no visual indication. The only way to prevent a Mactans attack is to lock your device before charging it and keep it locked for the entire time." Once accomplished, the pairing is permanent.

The team found an attribute that Apple uses internally to make apps hidden, so they don't show up on the screen or in the task manager. They leveraged this, along with access to the Apple private APIs, to create a Trojan that can take over the phone completely and invisibly. As a final (and alarming) demonstration, they showed a Mactans-pwned phone turn itself on, swipe open, enter the passcode, and call another phone. The audience cheered wildly (though perhaps a bit fearfully).

http://boingboing.net/2013/08/02/iphones-and-other-apple-device.html/feed0Heard: an app that records what you heard 5 minutes agohttp://boingboing.net/2013/07/23/heard-an-app-that-records-wha.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/07/23/heard-an-app-that-records-wha.html#commentsWed, 24 Jul 2013 01:20:25 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=244862When you activate the app, it begins recording everything around you on a 12-second buffer (extend it to five minutes for $1.99).]]>

When you activate the app, it begins recording everything around you on a 12-second buffer (extend it to five minutes for $1.99). Any time you want, click the “Push to save” button to save the current clip. Do nothing, and the self-destructing buffer lets the audio slip into the ether.

Why would anyone not in the NSA want an app like this? With Heard, you can capture anything from your baby’s first words to a key point in a lecture without hovering your thumb over the record button all day.

http://boingboing.net/2013/07/22/ipad-app-of-300-rotating-anima.html/feed0Apple's mobile devices have a secret list of "sensitive" words that don't autocompletehttp://boingboing.net/2013/07/17/apples-mobile-devices-have-a.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/07/17/apples-mobile-devices-have-a.html#commentsWed, 17 Jul 2013 16:23:54 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=243202
The Daily Beast investigated the autocomplete on Apple Ios devices (Iphones, Ipads, etc), and discovered that there was a long list of "sensitive" words that the devices have in their dictionary but would not autocomplete -- you would have to type them out in full to get them into your device.]]>
The Daily Beast investigated the autocomplete on Apple Ios devices (Iphones, Ipads, etc), and discovered that there was a long list of "sensitive" words that the devices have in their dictionary but would not autocomplete -- you would have to type them out in full to get them into your device. This list includes words such as "abortion," "rape," "ammo," and "bullet." They documented their methodology in detail.

According to a Daily Beast analysis, iPhones running Apple’s latest software will not suggest corrections for even slight misspellings of such hot-button words as "abortion,” "rape,” “ammo,” and “bullet.” For example, if a user types "abortiom" with an "m" instead of an "n," the software won't suggest a correction, as it would with nearly 150,000 other words. (Many modern spell-check and predictive text engines understand that the “n” is located next to “m” on a standard keyboard, so replacing it with its neighbor is the low-hanging fruit of the correction world.)

...But among this list as well are more frequently used (and sensitive) words such as “abortion,” “abort,” “rape,” “bullet,” “ammo,” “drunken,” “drunkard,” “abduct,” “arouse,” “Aryan,” “murder,” and “virginity.”

As a parent, I can understand wanting to limit the autocompletes available to small children. Autocomplete turns out to be a great way to help kids with complex spelling beyond their immediate ability -- my five year old, who is able to read simple words, uses autocomplete while searching for and reading lists of cartoons on YouTube, and the additional context of knowing that the drop-down list likely contains the word she's looking for helps her correctly locate it, even if it is not a word she'd be able to read on her own.

But I am not a five year old. I want a device that spells the words I'm trying to type, without deference to potential screaming Fox News/New York Post headlines like "Five year old tries to search for rope, finds rape!"

I'm pretty sure Android does something like this. "Fuck" and other swear-words never, ever autocomplete correctly for me on Android; the article in the Beast goes on to quote an exec from a company that makes an Android replacement keyboard cheerfully admitting that the Chinese version of his product has a list of words not to autocomplete that is mandated by the politburo.

It's not quite censorship, but it's a patronizing, nudging, nudzhing design decision that is infuriating. The lack of transparency is even more exasperating.

]]>http://boingboing.net/2013/06/04/plants-vs-zombies-2-fun-trai.html/feed26Walking Your Octopus: A Guidebook to the Domesticated Cephalopodhttp://boingboing.net/2013/05/30/walking-your-octopus-a-guideb.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/05/30/walking-your-octopus-a-guideb.html#commentsFri, 31 May 2013 00:34:23 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=233436Bob Self, publisher of Baby Tattoo, says: "I have a lot of fun publishing books by artists whose work I really dig, but I had extra fun producing Baby Tattoo's newest (and widest) book Walking Your Octopus: A Guidebook to the Domesticated Cephalopod.]]>Bob Self, publisher of Baby Tattoo, says: "I have a lot of fun publishing books by artists whose work I really dig, but I had extra fun producing Baby Tattoo's newest (and widest) book Walking Your Octopus: A Guidebook to the Domesticated Cephalopod. The lavishly illustrated book is now available for pet lovers, octopus owners and art aficionados everywhere. Written and illustrated by 16 year veteran Disney story artist Brian Kesinger, the physical ink-on-paper book was designed for those who enjoy the more tactile things in life (a version of the book with fancy metal corners is available exclusively from the publisher). Not to leave out those who prefer their books to be enjoyed electronically, this project also marks Baby Tattoo's first excursion into the realm of e-books with a spiffy iOS version of the book that includes music and narration.

]]>http://boingboing.net/2013/05/30/walking-your-octopus-a-guideb.html/feed5Fascinating iOS apps for music makinghttp://boingboing.net/2013/05/28/fascinating-ios-apps-for-music.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/05/28/fascinating-ios-apps-for-music.html#commentsTue, 28 May 2013 15:27:30 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=232874
Over at our sponsor Intel's LifeScoop site, I wrote about several fascinating iOS apps for music creation that employ non-traditional and intuitive interfaces.]]>

Created by Audanika in Germany, SoundPrism is a stunning interface that immerses the user in a relaxing, meditative music making experience. . The iOS app, most impressive on iPad, is incredibly intuitive, generating an alluring grid of glowing tiles whose colors represent pitch. But while it’s easy for total non-musicians to make stunning melodies, the interface design is steeped in some deep musical theory. The SoundPrism tiles are arranged in a Circle of Thirds, a symmetric model that the app’s musician developers believe is a fantastic method for teaching basic harmonic theory. In fact, if you’re a music theory geek, Audanika created a harmony theory blog to explore the “symmetry model” embodied by their app.

Experiments in Mobile Music Apps]]>http://boingboing.net/2013/05/28/fascinating-ios-apps-for-music.html/feed4Crappy iPhone game asks kids to buy $500 worth of in-app crap on the first screenhttp://boingboing.net/2013/04/26/crappy-iphone-game-asks-kids-t.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/04/26/crappy-iphone-game-asks-kids-t.html#commentsFri, 26 Apr 2013 19:34:29 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=226857Boing Boing alum John Brownlee writes about an atrociously ugly Super Mario Bros. clone that hits players up for $500 worth of in-app purchases on the first screen.]]>

Boing Boing alum John Brownlee writes about an atrociously ugly Super Mario Bros. clone that hits players up for $500 worth of in-app purchases on the first screen.

I bet you’re itching to play it. Sadly, though, you can’t. Apple’s already yanked it from the App Store. You probably didn’t want to play it anyway, though: it has to be the most shamelessly abusive examples of in-app purchases that mortal mind can comprehend.

…

The amazing thing here isn’t that Apple banned it, it’s that they didn’t catch any of this to begin with! Especially considering the fact that the developer, Mario Casas, seems to reupload this exact same game to Apple — with the exact same in-app purchase scheme — every couple of months with a new name and new graphics, scamming players until he’s caught. And thus the cycle starts anew.

]]>http://boingboing.net/2013/04/26/crappy-iphone-game-asks-kids-t.html/feed7Video shows you how to jailbreak your iOS 6.1 devicehttp://boingboing.net/2013/02/04/video-shows-you-how-to-jailbre.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/02/04/video-shows-you-how-to-jailbre.html#commentsMon, 04 Feb 2013 21:57:45 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=210824This Cult of Mac video makes it look pretty easy to jailbreak your iPhone or iPad. What is a good reason to do it?]]>

This Cult of Mac video makes it look pretty easy to jailbreak your iPhone or iPad. What is a good reason to do it? If you have jailbroken your iOS device to do something cool that you couldn't have accomplished with a non-jailbroken device, please tell us about it in the comments.

]]>http://boingboing.net/2013/02/04/video-shows-you-how-to-jailbre.html/feed40Hundreds is a stylish iOS puzzlerhttp://boingboing.net/2013/01/21/hundreds-is-a-stylish-ios-puzz-2.html
http://boingboing.net/2013/01/21/hundreds-is-a-stylish-ios-puzz-2.html#commentsMon, 21 Jan 2013 14:31:18 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=206213Hundreds is a minimalist puzzle game from Semi Secret Software, the makers of Canabalt. Each of its 100 levels is filled with one or more floating circles.]]>Hundreds is a minimalist puzzle game from Semi Secret Software, the makers of Canabalt. Each of its 100 levels is filled with one or more floating circles. When you press down on a circle, its numerical value and size increases. Your goal is to enlarge the circles until their combined values add up to 100. But as a circle grows, it turns red, and if anything touches a red circle, it’s game over.

The game is deliberately cryptic, challenging you to figure things out for yourself. There are no instructions. Instead, the game’s levels gradually introduce gameplay elements. The first level is almost insultingly easy, with only a single circle, but the challenges soon grow to include more circles, linked circles, burstable bubbles, and hazards like value-destroying buzz saws.

A riddle minigame adds to the mystery, with a new riddle unlocked every few levels. The riddles can be accessed by tapping the center of the main menu. Solving conundrums such as “A MOUSE HAS ONE SNOUT BUT A HAND HAS FIVE,” earn players Game Center achievements. The riddles are a nice distraction, and it’s impressive that the developers were able to fit a minigame into such a simple game.

Solving every level and riddle requires zen-like patience. In fact, later levels often feel as though they rely on patience and luck more than wits or skill. Fortunately, the game’s neutral grays and relaxing soundtrack (by Loscil) help prevent you from throwing your iPhone across the room.

Despite being conceived as a Flash game, Hundreds feels like it was made for iOS, with its simple, elegant design and inherent touch-friendliness. On larger iPad screens, the game can even be played co-operatively with a friend.

Hundreds is a well crafted time killer, and like its predecessor Canabalt, impressively crafted, if often frustrating. For those seeking a stylish, challenging puzzle game, it’s worth every penny of $4.99 in the App Store.

Scott Snibbe, the developer for Björk’s "Biophilia" app, has developed an iOS app for the Philip Glass remix project—the app is titled REWORK_.

Here is a video of My Great Ghost, whose remix of "Music in 12 Parts" is the first track on the record, performing an entirely new track using the app.

More about the app:

The studio has built a
REWORK app that includes interactive visualizations corresponding to 11 of the remix songs with visuals that
range from futuristic three-dimensional landscapes to shattered multicolored crystals and vibrating sound
waves. The app also includes an interactive “Glass Machine” that allows users to create their own music
inspired by Philip Glass’ early works by simply sliding two discs around side-by-side, generating
polyrhythmic counterpoints between the two melodies.

“This is a way for people who don’t have the
experience of manipulating music material to see what it's like,” says Glass.

The app is available via the
iTunes store here and more info can be found at the Snibbe Studio website here.